


Darlin'

by Domina_Stellarum



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 15:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7807897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Domina_Stellarum/pseuds/Domina_Stellarum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well, thanks for signing off the forms so quickly, d-” McCoy froze. His usual “damn it” wasn't going to fly in this situation. It was going to have to be something else, something inconspicuous. </p>
<p>“Dumbass.” He added before he could stop himself. </p>
<p>Jim nearly dropped his tablet and gaped up at McCoy. “That...that's so uncalled for.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darlin'

As a rule, Leonard McCoy hated pet names. Nicknames? Those were fine, he had, after all, begrudgingly gotten used to being called ‘Bones’ for the past few years and there was no use fighting that now. But pet names? No way. 

Even when he had been married he never really used pet names, maybe once in a blue moon his ex would call him “love” or something equally as nauseating, but Leonard couldn't remember a time he had returned the favor. He was damn happy just using everyone's name, no mushy affectionate name calling necessary. That is until he met a young man by the name of Jim Kirk. 

There was something about the boy that just demanded affection. Almost as if using his name wasn't good enough. Something deep inside Lenard had a desire to shower the younger man with affection and praise. But every time it popped up, Leonard would crush that something back down and go about his day as if his desire to call the now Captain of the Enterprise “darling” had never existed. 

But as time went on and his affection towards the boy grew stronger, it became increasingly harder to push the feeling down. Usually, if Leonard felt the term beginning to slip, he could cover it up and masquerade it as a simple slip of the tongue or an under the breath addition to his original statement. However, his cover ups over the past few months had been less than graceful. His slip ups would eventually lead him to disaster, Leonard was sure of it. 

The first cover-up had been easy to recover from. The captain had beamed back aboard the Enterprise after a mostly successful meeting with the leaders of a small planet, located just outside federation territory. It was deemed mostly successful because the entire away crew had come back covered in what appeared to be a rash that was somewhat akin to poison ivy. The constant scratching had drawn out the meeting considerably. 

McCoy had treated all the affected crew before the Captain, at Jim's request of course, and was not looking forward to treating his friend; given the fact that Jim had a bad problem with being allergic to damn near everything. McCoy figured a simple patch of itchy redness was probably a throat closing, eye swelling reaction for the Captain. 

The doctor rounded a corner and fully expected to find Jim splayed out on the floor, gasping for air. He was instead, thankfully greeted by the site of Jim sitting quietly on the edge of gurney. All was well except for the angry patches of red that covered parts of the Captain's face, neck and hands. 

“Hey, Bones.” Jim smiled as he reached up and began to viscously scratch at his neck. 

“Stop that!” McCoy ordered immediately, slapping at the man's hands. 

Jim let his hand drop to his side with a huff, “Easier said than done.” He mumbled. 

McCoy rolled his eyes and began scanning the Captain. The small tricorder chirped and whirled as it analyzed Jim’s skin. 

“How are you feeling?” He questioned. 

“Itchy.” 

McCoy sighed. “I mean besides that.” 

Jim sat and thought for a moment, “Very itchy.” He reported finally, a lopsided smile spread across his face.

Mccoy gave a small smile back and kept going with his examination. He got Jim talking about the mission and how they managed to all comeback covered in this rash. As he talked, McCoy pulled a hypo from a nearby tray and jammed it into his friend's neck; it always worked out better for everyone if Jim didn't see the damn thing coming. 

Jim yelped and jumped up. “What the hell was that for?” He demanded. “You didn't hypo anyone else!” 

McCoy laughed. “No one else is as prone to alien diseases as you are, da-” He stopped and cringed as he felt the word on the tip of his tongue. “Damn it.” He hastily added. 

Jim seemed to not have noticed the slip and went on rubbing his neck. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” He sighed finally. 

McCoy nodded and walked Jim out of the infirmary. “Get some sleep!” he shouted as The man disappeared down the hall. McCoy pushed the slip up out of his mind and attempted to ignore the fact that it had happened at all. Eventually, he went about his work and forgot all about it. 

The weeks went on and the slips started to happen more frequently. Most of the time, they were fairly easy to cover up, and often went unnoticed. Other times, not so much. 

The last slip, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, was one that Leonard couldn't quite recover from. In an attempt to cover up his mistake, he inadvertently ended up insulting the Captain. On the bridge. In front of the crew. 

They had just returned from shore leave and as was customary, Jim had ordered that all individuals who had departed the ship be given a routine physical. One too many incidents with hitchhiking alien spores and poisonous microbes made the physicals less optional and more mandatory. 

After all the crew was checked out, it was required that the chief medical officer and the Captain sign off on the fact that they weren't knowingly bring aboard any dangerous organisms. 

As usual, McCoy had sent the form to Jim as soon as he finished the physicals. Leonard knew it would be days before he got it back with the Captain's signature, it would most likely get lost under all of the other paperwork the Captain should have been reading over. Leonard didn't mind it, but the physical forms needed to be signed; they were boring but, after all, they were official. 

McCoy, having realized he had some free time, decided to make sure Jim signed the paperwork on time for once. A quick trip to the bridge would ensure a quick delivery of the document. 

As McCoy stepped onto the bridge he nodded at the other officers and smiled at his friends. He stepped up behind the Captain's chair and found Jim tapping away at his PADD. He looked up and smiled at his friend. 

“If you're here about the physical paperwork, I've already signed it and sent it back.” Jim chirped happily. 

“Oh.” Leonard responded, somewhat taken aback. “Well, thanks for signing off the forms so quickly, d-” McCoy froze. His usual “damn it” wasn't going to fly in this situation. It was going to have to be something else, something inconspicuous. 

“Dumbass.” He added before he could stop himself. 

Jim nearly dropped his tablet and gaped up at McCoy. “That...that's so uncalled for.” 

Mentally, Leonard felt the need to run as far away from his current situation as possible. Physically, he felt his face redden and his feet stay firmly rooted in place. 

The Captain’s gape turned into a glare as he stood. “I think we need to have a word in private, Doctor.” 

McCoy simply nodded and mumbled out, “Yes, Captain.” Before following Jim off towards the turn lift. He could feel the eyes of the crew burn into the back of his head as he stepped into the lift. 

Jim remained quiet as the lift started down, to where Leonard wasn't sure. About halfway through their ride Jim hit the emergency stop and turned to face his companion. 

“What the hell was that?” He demanded, arms crossed tightly over his chest. 

McCoy couldn't bring himself to look at Jim, instead he squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed a hand over his face. 

“I…” He started. “Have no idea.” 

“What do you mean you have no idea. You don't just go around insulting people!” Jim paused and thought. “Well, alright maybe you do, but not me!” He added, McCoy let out a small huff of a laugh. “You don't go around insulting me! Especially not in front of other people!” 

Leonard sighed. “I'm sorry. It...it just came out.” 

Jim shook his head. “Mm-mm. Nope. Try again.” 

McCoy groaned. “Can't I just say sorry and leave it at that?” 

Jim shook his head and the lift settled into an uncomfortable silence. The two men stood and stared at each other for a long while. Or, to be more specific, Jim stared and Leonard looked anywhere but at Jim. He hoped Jim wouldn't notice how red his face had become, but odds of that were extremely low. 

Finally Leonard let out a groan. “Darlin’” he finally said, his voice only barely above a whisper. 

Confusion twisted across Jim's face. “Come again?” 

“I wasn't going to call you dumbass. At least no this time.” He paused and shrugged. “I was going to call you darlin’.” 

There was silence again. McCoy could feel his face grow redder and felt suddenly very trapped by the small lift. He mustered up all the strength he could and turned to look at Jim, fully expecting him to be red-faced and furious. Instead the Captain was standing across from him with a giant grin plastered on his face. 

“What the hell are you smilin’ at?” 

“You hate pet names.” Jim replied, still grinning like a madman.

“Very observant. Now can we get this thing started again?” He said, kicking the lift. 

Jim's smile faltered as he leaned over to start the lift. It started up, only moving up a deck or two before Jim stopped it again. 

Leonard groaned. “What now?” 

“Why would you want to call me darling?” 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” 

Jim stared back at him. “Now that I think about, you've been faltering quite a bit over the past few weeks.” 

“Well stop thinkin’ about it.” 

“Nope,” Jim replied, popping the p a little too loudly. 

Finally, Leonard sighed. “Look, this isn't the time or the place.” He pleaded. 

“I think I deserve some sort of explanation. You did insult me on the bridge. In front of a lot of people mind you.” 

Leonard struggled to find anyway out of his current situation, but nothing short of attacking the Captain and forcibly starting the lift came to mind. He could lie or refuse to talk, but absolutely nothing good could come of that. He leaned against the wall of the lift and let the feeling of defeat wash over him. 

“God damn it.” He groaned suddenly. “Jim..” He started, glancing up at the Captain. He was still standing across from Leonard, looking confused and vaguely concerned. 

“I am head over heels in goddamn love with you, that's why.” He finished. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears and was sure his face was redder than humanly possible. 

After a moment Jim let out a small, “oh.” 

Leonard look up, fully expecting to be rejected. He expected Jim to give a polite smile and start up the lift, to step out and not even acknowledge the confession. He expected to be avoided and ignored by his longest friend and to be expelled back into the depression that led him to join Starfleet in the first place. 

What he didn't expect was Jim's hands to find their way to either side of Leonard's face, or to be pulled forward into a rough kiss. Leonard let Jim's mouth move against his own and felt a burning desire to be closer to the man. He cupped his hands around the younger man's hips and dragged him forward until the two were pressed flush against one another. Jim responded by forcing Leonard back against the wall of the lift and snaking his hands up around the doctor's neck. 

The pair remained close, tangled and content until Jim pulled back, smiling. 

“You hate pet names.” Jim teased again. 

Leonard dipped his head back and laughed. “That's really all you're takin’ away from this?” He wondered aloud. 

“Well…” Jim started. “I already knew you were in love with me.” 

“What?” Leonard tensed and gaped at the man. 

“Com’on Bones! It's not like you're subtle or anything. For starters, I've seen the way you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention.” He shrugged. “I was just waiting to see how long it took you to notice I was in love with you too.” 

Leonard stared at the Captain. He could feel a dumb little smile start across his lips. “You...you what?” He finally managed. 

Jim nodded and laughed again. He gently pulled away from the man, turned and started the lift. “You are wrong though.” He quipped, glancing back at McCoy. 

Leonard was about to ask what he meant when the doors to the lift zipped open. Jim stepped out and turned back to face the doctor, “If it took you this long to notice” he winked, “You're the dumbass, darlin’”

**Author's Note:**

> This was completely inspired by a post on tumblr created by @glitterstcrms


End file.
